by Cox, Carol
“Do you realize what this could mean?” he asked.
“Mm-hm. Look what else fell out.” Hallie held out her other hand.
Jacob stared at a roll of bills big enough to choke a horse. “Where would a cowboy get that much money?”
“Not from working for my father, that’s for sure.”
As if on cue, Burke Evans threw open the front door and ran down the porch steps.
“What’s all the commotion? What are you doing?” He stared at Pete’s still figure and jerked his gaze back up to direct a menacing glare at Jacob. “You come here with all your talk about leaving people in peace, then you go and do something like this?”
Jacob held out the papers and nodded toward the money still in Hallie’s hand. “Any idea where he’d come by that amount of cash?”
Burke gaped at the wad of money, then flipped through the bills of sale Jacob handed him. His features hardened. “No, but we’re going to find out.” He prodded Pete with his boot. “Wake up. We’ve got some talking to do.”
Pete rolled his head to one side and moaned. Burke reached down and pulled him up by the front of his shirt. “Wake up,” he repeated. He shook the groggy man and waved the papers in his face. “What do you have to say about this?”
Pete shook his head and blinked. His gaze lit on the papers in Burke’s hand, and his eyes seemed to snap back into focus. He stiffened and shifted his gaze from side to side like a trapped coyote. Seeing no way of escape, he swung around and turned to Jacob.
“Don’t let him hang me,” he said.
❧
The sun hung low in the western sky. Hallie waited outside the barn door while Jacob and her father tied Pete securely in one of the stalls. Even though Jacob assured him he would be taken back to Prescott for trial, the sight of Burke Evans carrying a rope had been enough to frighten the cowboy into rattling off all the details of the rustling operation he had spearheaded.
Jacob had the names he needed now and enough physical evidence in the form of the bills of sale and ill-gotten money to bring the guilty men to justice. In the morning, he could go after the rest of the lot and turn them over to Sheriff Ruffner along with their erstwhile leader.
Pete’s sudden transformation from a blustering bully into a broken man shocked Hallie, but not as much as the plea he made while her father and Jacob dragged him into the barn. At the doorway he turned back toward her, his face pale and frightened. “You know I never would have hurt you, Hallie. I was going to let you go that day at the canyon, remember?” His voice cracked, and a sharp push from her father hurried him out of her sight.
So Pete had been one of the men she’d surprised in the canyon. The one who knelt in the small of her back and pushed her face into the dirt? Probably. It would fit with his enjoyment of bullying anyone smaller and weaker than himself.
And he had been the one who promised to carry her off with him, she felt sure of that. The bandanna over his face, coupled with the shock of finding her there, had distorted his voice enough to keep her from recognizing it. Besides, she had been so sure he was at the other end of the range that fateful day.
The creak of the barn door brought her out of her reverie. Jacob watched her father drop the heavy bar into place. “Thanks for your help. That should hold him until I’m ready to leave for town.”
Her father nodded, then looked down at his feet. “I guess I owe you an apology. You kept me from doing something I would have regretted for the rest of my days.”
Hallie could see the effort it cost him to reach his hand out toward Jacob, who took it in a firm grip.
“Apology accepted,” he said. “We’ll let this stay in the past, where it belongs. And I’m glad to think we’re starting over fresh. There’s something I want to talk to you about.” He walked over to Hallie and stopped beside her.
Her father’s mouth dropped open, then he pressed his lips together in a thin line. “If you’re thinking about the kind of talk I suspect you are, you can just forget it.” He looked straight at her. “Hallie, get in the house.”
“Wait.” Jacob stepped closer and put his arm around her shoulders. Hallie let his warmth flow through her and give her strength. “I love your daughter, Mr. Evans. I’d like your permission to ask her to marry me.”
Please, Pa. Say yes. Hallie turned a hopeful gaze upon him.
He stared at them for a long moment, then gave his head a decisive shake. “No. You can put that notion right out of your mind. I’ll lock her up again if I have to.”
“How much good did it do you to lock me in my room today?” Hallie stepped forward, leaving the security of Jacob’s touch. Her lips trembled so, she could barely speak.
She took a deep breath to keep her voice from shaking and plunged ahead. “My birthday is in August, remember? I’ll be twenty-one in just a few weeks. You can order me to obey you, and I will. . .for now. But you can’t keep a hold on me forever, Pa. Once I reach majority, I’ll do whatever needs to be done to be with Jacob.”
She stepped back and put her arm around Jacob’s waist. Lifting her chin, she said, “I love him, Pa. Nothing you can do is going to change that.”
❧
Jacob watched Burke and saw a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. He decided to press their advantage. “Do you really want Hallie at your beck and call because you demand it? Or would you rather she gave her affection to you freely?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her close.
Burke kept silent, studying the two of them. Finally he turned toward the house. “Hallie, you come inside.” His mouth turned up in a wry smile. “Whenever you’re of a mind to.”
“Oh, Pa!” Hallie ran to her father and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you. I’ll never stop loving you, you know that, don’t you?”
Burke stroked her hair with his work-hardened hand, and a tender expression lit his face. “I know that. I guess I always have.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead, then looked up and leveled a stern gaze at Jacob.
“You take care of her, do you hear? I shot you once. I can do it again if you don’t treat her right.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked away.
Hallie pressed her lips together and drew in a shaky breath. “Coming from him, that’s practically a blessing.”
“I know.” Jacob chuckled, then pulled her to him and tilted her head back so he could look straight into her eyes. “Hallie, I need to make it official. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She cupped her hand around his face and traced the line of his jaw with her fingers. Her soft breath caressed his cheek. “God has answered all my prayers,” she said simply.
“Even if it meant me getting shot?” Jacob tried to look stern, but he couldn’t hold back a smile.
“Yes, Jacob.” He stiffened, and Hallie looked puzzled. Then she laughed. “I mean, yes, I will be your wife.”
Jacob’s laughter mingled with hers. “God has brought us through heartbreak to joy.” He slid his arms around her and cradled her head against his chest. “Who knows what He has in store for us along the road ahead?”
Hallie tilted her head to one side. Her breath came out in a soft sigh. “I have no idea what is going to come our way. But whatever it is, I know I can get through it as long as I have Him.” She lifted her face and closed her eyes.
“And you,” she whispered, just before his lips touched hers.
About the Author
Carol Cox is a native of Arizona whose time is devoted to being a pastor’s wife, keeping up with her college-age son’s schedule, home schooling her young daughter, and serving as a church pianist, youth worker, and 4-H leader. She loves any activity she can share with her family in addition to her own pursuits in reading, crafts, and local history. She also has had several novels and novellas published. Carol and her family make their home in northern Arizona.
Dedication
Many thanks to Terry Schultz, Arizona State Livestock Officer, for answering my questions and giving me so
me good ideas.
A note from the Author:
I love to hear from my readers! You may correspond with me by writing:
Carol Cox
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PO Box 719
Uhrichsville, OH 44683